This invention relates to a communication cable with optical wave guides and sheath of high tensile strength, within the core of which cable surrounded by the sheath there are at least two ribbon lines within which the optical wave guides are arranged parallel to each other and are held together by fastening elements (Federal Republic of Germany OS No. 28 15 514).
Optical wave guides are finished structures of glass fibers which are suitable for the transmission of light waves without additional processing. They have advantages over the metal conductors customary up to now in communications engineering. Optical wave guides are very wide-band and of very low attenuation so that more channels can be transmitted with increased distance between repeaters over one conductor. They are readily flexible and of small diameter so that the cross section of the cable can be reduced. Furthermore, they are not affected by external electrical or magnetic interference fields.
For the use of optical wave guides for transmission purposes in communication engineering they can be worked into optical wave guide cables. In the known optical wave guide cable disposed in the aforementioned Federal Republic of Germany OS No. 28 15 514 the optical wave guides are combined for this purpose in prefabrication into ribbon lines in which they are connected over their entire length with a ribbon-shaped support. The support represents protection of the optical wave guides upon their further processing. In this known optical wave guide cable at least one such ribbon line is embedded within a sheath which is developed as a profiled member with armoring wires. The ribbon line with the optical wave guides is arranged loosely in a lengthwise extending bore in the profiled member. If more than one ribbon line is to be used, then the additional ribbon lines are arranged in additional bores in the profiled member. Only one ribbon line is arranged in each bore. There is thus no problem in identifying the "correct" ribbon line when connecting the optical wave guides together at the end of the cable. Incorrect connections by confusing the ribbon lines are therefore practically out of the question. Since only one ribbon line is arranged in each bore of the profiled member, the number of optical wave guides to be arranged in said known optical wave guide cable is, however, very limited if the dimensions of the profiled member, and thus the dimensions of the optical wave guide cable, are to be kept within normal limits. The manufacture of this known optical wave guide cable is furthermore very expensive since it is necessary in prefabrication to produce a profiled member having bores separated from each other into which the ribbon lines with the optical wave guides must then be drawn, which is possible only for relatively short lengths of cable.